Paul Giamatti

Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti ( JEE-ə-MAH-tee; born June 6, 1967) is an American actor. His accolades include a Primetime Emmy Award and three Golden Globes, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards and a British Academy Film Award.

After studying acting at the Yale School of Drama, he performed in numerous theatrical productions. Giamatti made his Broadway debut portraying Ezra Chater in the Tom Stoppard play Arcadia (1995). Later that year, he played the Rev. Donald "Streaky" Bacon in the David Hare play Racing Demon (1995). He returned to theatre in the revivals of Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters (1997) and Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh (1999).

Giamatti's breakout role in film was in Private Parts (1997), which led to supporting roles in My Best Friend's Wedding (1997), Saving Private Ryan (1998), and Man on the Moon (1999). He won acclaim for his leading roles in American Splendor (2003), Sideways (2004), Win Win (2011), and Private Life (2018). He has also acted in The Illusionist (2006), Fred Claus (2007), The Ides of March (2011), 12 Years a Slave (2013), and Saving Mr. Banks (2013). He also portrayed Limbo in Planet of the Apes (2001), Eugene Landy in Love & Mercy (2014), and Jerry Heller in Straight Outta Compton (2015). He earned a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Joe Gould in Cinderella Man (2005), and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as disgruntled teacher Paul Hunham in The Holdovers (2023).

On television, Giamatti played the title role in the HBO miniseries John Adams (2008), which earned him acclaim and several awards including a Primetime Emmy and Golden Globe. He starred as U.S. Attorney Chuck Rhoades Jr. in the Showtime television series Billions (2016–2023), and earned Emmy nominations for his roles as Ben Bernanke in the HBO film Too Big to Fail (2011), and Harold Levinson in the ITV series Downton Abbey (2013).